Dakota smelled him first. An overpowering cologne. Chaos smelled it too. He could tell by the way she wrinkled her nose. She sat up straighter as if to say, "Come and get me." He really liked that about her. She didn't cave to any challenge. He heard footsteps across the floor over their heads.
“Linda, should we go upstairs?” Kat asked.
“No we have cameras up there. Let’s see if he’ll come to us.”
Dakota watched Chaos. She looked like she was planning her next move. She was calm as if playing a game of chess. “Chaos, what do you think? Should a team go up there?”
“No. He’s playing games.”
He saw her head jerk back. She yelped and jumped up. “You son of a bitch, show yourself.”
“What just happened?” Linda asked.
“He hit me.” She rubbed her cheek where she’d felt the impact. “How can he be upstairs and down here at the same time?” Chaos asked.
Linda didn’t answer. She closed her eyes as if she were trying to listen to something.
“It’s colder in here,” Dakota said. “He’s drawing our energy.” He gripped the edge of his chair and waited for the spirit to strike again. It all made sense now. Chaos wasn’t the danger that his dream warned him about. Dead Bill was the danger. He’d gotten it all wrong. “Let me see your face.” Dakota went to her. With the flashlight on her cheek he could see the welts. “You should probably get this on camera, Kat. You okay, Chaos?” He wrapped an arm around her to stop her trembling. He could feel her heart racing.
“I’m not afraid,” she said, stepping out of his embrace. “I’m pissed.”
“Good, it’s better than being scared.” Upstairs, they heard something crash to the floor.
“We should leave,” she said. “I should leave, before he destroys Linda’s home.”
“It’s just a few dishes, Chaos. Nothing that can’t be replaced. Unlike you.” He reached out and took her hand.
“What’s going on with you?”
Dakota read the question in her eyes. She could sense the change in him. He no longer felt like he needed to be on guard around her. Linda was right. Chaos wasn’t a risk to him and she wasn’t going to die. It was Bill and they were going to take care of him tonight. “I just realized I’ve been wrong about something.”
“What?”
“I’ll tell you later. Ready to continue?”
“Bring it on.”
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Dead Time
Another dish crashed on the kitchen floor. Chaos winced. “Dammit. He’s destroying your home.” It was ticking her off.
“Come on, Sheila. We’re going upstairs,” Kat said. She grabbed a handheld video camera and took the lens cap off the digital camera hanging around her neck.
“What are you going to do?” Kat looked like she was pissed and Chaos didn’t like the idea of them splitting up. Bill was up to something. He’d never behaved like this before. She didn’t trust it.
“We’re going to take the camera and try to drive him down here.”
“Stay in communication,” Linda said.
Chaos watched them head up the stairs, the dim light of the recording equipment illuminating their way.
“What if it isn’t him?” Chaos asked. There’d been something else in the room with her the last time, a dark shadow and a mist. Maybe she was being stalked by more than one person. “What if it’s not Bill?”
“My home is protected. Nothing is allowed in here that wasn’t invited. I invited Bill. He’s here.”
“So now what?”
“Now we wait.”
Dakota moved to the end of the couch. “Something doesn’t feel right. I want you on the couch by me.”
She didn’t know what had changed for him, why he was suddenly accepting their obvious attraction, but it felt nice. The barrier was down between them. The sexual tension still vibrated like a hot wire but she didn’t feel like he was pushing her away. Quite the opposite actually, he was protective and comforting. It was the best feeling she’d ever experienced and it wasn’t hers to keep. She couldn’t lean on him. He was in danger every second he was with her. Death and mayhem followed her and she wouldn’t let Dakota be another casualty. Dead Bill was probably gunning for him and curse or no curse, bad things happened to people she cared about. “I’m fine over here. Linda, I wish you would tell me what needs to be done to get rid of him and then leave me to do it. It’s too dangerous.” Upstairs, they heard another loud crash and a scream. “That was Sheila.”
“Dakota,” Sheila popped in on the walkie. “I think you should come up here.” Dakota glanced at Linda and she nodded.
Chaos’s heart jumped in her chest. She steeled herself against it. Bill was separating them. She was sure of that. “He’s trying to split us up.”
“Why do you think that, Chaos?” Linda asked.
She paused and realized she couldn’t come up with a logical reason why. Nothing made sense. She just felt it in her gut. Dead Bill was messing with them. “I just do.”
“I’m going up,” Dakota announced.
He had on his fierce protective face that included deep furrows in his brow. Chaos knew she wouldn’t be able to talk him out of it. These people were his family and he’d die protecting them.
“I’m gonna go take care of this son of a bitch.” He turned to Chaos. “I’ll only be seconds away. Stay here. Don’t leave Linda’s side.”
She didn’t know if Linda was supposed to keep her safe or if she was supposed to keep Linda safe. It didn’t matter. She rose from her chair to go stand beside Linda. “I won’t.”
Dakota disappeared up the stairs. Chaos listened for some kind of sign that everything was okay upstairs. Nothing. Dead silence, except for the beating of her own heart. “Why did you let him go upstairs? He would have stayed if you’d asked him to.”
“You already know the answer to that, Chaos. He’s safer up there. That’s why you let him go without a fight. It’s you Bill wants. It is going to come down to the two of us, Chaos. Are you ready for that?”The meter sounded. “Are you with us now, Bill?” Linda asked.
Chaos watched the meter light up again. Chills zipped up her spine. The hairs on her heck and arms stood on end. As cliché as it was, that was the reaction her body was having.
“Then let’s get right to the point, one blip for yes and two for no. Do you understand?”
It sounded once and then went silent.
“Is your name Carl?” They waited only a second before he answered. “Two blips. Great.”
“Can you show yourself?” Chaos asked. The meter lit up once. She waited but he didn’t show up. “Asshole. Will you show yourself?” The lights blinked twice. “No. Okay.” She looked at Linda for what to do next.
“Do you know you’re dead?” The meter went crazy. They watched it light up and beep for a full minute.
“He’s in a rage,” Chaos said. She could practically feel his anger in the air around them. It pushed at her. Her heart beat, a jackhammer in her chest.
“If you don’t stop that noise now,” Linda said. “I’m turning the meter off.”
The noise continued as if he hadn’t heard her or didn’t care. Linda rose from her chair to turn off the K2. As she reached for it Chaos saw her stumble back. She landed awkwardly in the chair. “What happened?”
Linda straightened her glasses and shifted on the chair. “He pushed me.”
A door slammed upstairs. Something crashed to the floor. Chaos heard yelling and Kat screamed. Linda started singing.
Chaos struggled to listen to whatever was going on upstairs. “What are you singing?”
“A hymn. It popped into my head.”
Chaos heard the clip of Kat’s boots over their heads. The steps stopped. The air in the basement became almost unbearably heavy, as if someone or something was pushing down on them. It made her skin crawl and the hairs on her arms and neck stood on end. The house was silent except for Linda’s soft singing. Like standing in
the eye of a hurricane, Chaos waited for all hell to break loose. Dead Bill wasn’t done with them. Not yet.
Her walkie beeped. “Everything okay down there?”
“It’s awfully still, Dakota.”
“Yeah, I don’t like it.”
A loud roar filled the house. “What is that?”
“It sounds like there’s a tornado in Linda’s meditation room upstairs. We’re going to check it out. You okay?”
Bill was drawing them further away. He was definitely separating them. Why? What did he think he could accomplish when she was alone? She glanced at Linda, Still singing, her eyes were closed, a look of deep concentration on her face. “Yeah, we’re fine.” Let Bill separate them. Let him think he was getting his way.
Chaos put her hand on Linda’s arm. The singing stopped. Her eyes popped open. “He doesn’t want to cross over.”
“What do you mean?”
“I was inside his thoughts, his energy. He knows he’s dead and he’s furious with you. He is completely fixated. Nothing else matters to him except vengeance on you.” Linda raised her hands and held her head. She squeezed and groaned.
Chaos had never seen anything like it. Was Bill trying to get inside her head? “Linda, what’s wrong?”
“My head hurts. I need my pain medication.”
“For what?”
“Brain tumor. Cancer. I’m dying, Chaos.”
“Yeah, right,” Chaos laughed. Linda was one of the most vital people she’d ever met. “I’m not leaving you alone. Dakota said to stick together so you can get your aspirin or whatever, later.” She looked at Linda. In the light of her headlamp, her face was the color of dryer lint. Even in the darkness, Chaos could see Linda was telling the truth. She felt like she’d been punched in the stomach. The air rushed out of her. A deep pain filled the space.
“Will you get my meds?”
“No.” Chaos couldn’t believe she was denying a dying woman her pain medication. “We can’t separate. I’ll ask Dakota to get them. Does he know?”
“He knows.”
Chaos felt her heart break. Linda was the mother Dakota had never had. She’d helped him find purpose and meaning for his life. He must be devastated. He’d never let on that anything was wrong with Linda. “Sheila and Kat?”
“No.”
“How long?”
Linda didn’t answer. Maybe she didn’t want to talk about it. “Linda?”
“He’s here.” Linda rose from her wooden armchair and pointed to the stairwell.
Chaos didn’t see anything. Why isn’t he showing himself? she wondered. She wanted to get this over with and get Linda the help she needed. “Show yourself , Bill. You fucking coward.” Anger usually helped him gain strength. She’d give him her anger and help him manifest. It was a dangerous approach. He could get too strong, but Linda needed help.
“He won’t.” She wavered in front of the chair as if standing took too much energy. “He needs energy to manifest and he’d rather use it to cause trouble. And he likes moving around unseen. He knows it frightens you.”
“I’m not afraid of him.” She wasn’t. Not anymore.
“Maybe you should be.” Linda raised her arms up toward the ceiling and started singing again.
Chaos saw a dark mass dash past her. It slammed into Linda. She watched in horror as Linda stumbled back. Her foot clipped the chair. Chaos lunged forward to catch her. Linda’s head caught the arm of the chair and Chaos heard a pop. She caught Linda as she crumpled to the ground. Cradling Linda’s head and keeping the shadow in her periphery, she filled her lungs and yelled for Dakota.
He was there instantly. His long hair blew behind him like he stood in a windstorm. Shimmers of energy radiated off of him like the flames from a sparkler. It was almost too bright to look at. Chaos pointed to the back of the room. She couldn’t see Bill any longer but she knew he was there, crouched in the darkness waiting for a moment to strike. Before Chaos could look away, he was gone. She frowned. Where did he go? She looked at Dakota. His eyes were wide with surprise. Fear flashed over his face, then hate. Chaos gasped. A storm cloud of panic, fear, and fury engulfed her. Chaos saw Bill in Dakota’s eyes. She watched as he slowly looked around the room, the energy still emanating from him. She saw Bill’s evil smile on Dakota’s face. “You’re mine,” he hissed. It was Bill’s voice. Terror raked her spine.
Sheila bounded into the room. She saw the Bill/Dakota thing in the middle of the room and shrieked. “He’s possessing him.”
“Over here,” Chaos yelled. “Help Linda.”Dakota’s dream would not come true, she told herself. He would not die tonight and if she could help it, she wouldn’t die tonight either.
Sheila rushed over. “Kat’s upstairs with Dakota’s other half. What’s going on? What happened?”
“Linda hit her head.” She wasn’t going to go into the cancer thing right now. “Take care of her. I’m ending this.” Fury replaced the terror. Her friends were suffering. It had to end. She had to stop it now, no matter what. “All right,” Chaos said. Her voice calm and controlled, much more so than she was feeling. She wanted to rip Dead Bill apart with her bare hands. “Leave him alone. You win.”
“No, Chaos,” Sheila said. “Don’t do it.”
“I have to. I see that now. I have to go to the police and confess.” Chaos watched Dakota’s face for signs that Bill was releasing him. She didn’t know how long he had before Bill took over completely. But she knew instinctively that if that happened, Dakota would die. “Bill, I will go to the police and tell them everything like you asked me to. I’ll leave tonight for New Mexico but I need your help. I have no right to ask it but it’s the only way I know.” Chaos struggled to keep her body relaxed. This had to work. “I need you to get my dad. He was a police officer. He’s dead, like you. I need you to get him for me so he can tell me how to do this, how to turn myself in.” She could tell he was listening. Dakota’s pained eyes replaced Bill’s for a split second. It killed her to watch Dakota struggling for his soul. It was all her fault. This had to work. “Will you do that? Will you get my dad?”
She heard a blip on the K2 behind her. She saw Dakota’s beautiful face again. He was himself. “Get back in your body,” she mouthed. He shook his head no. She wanted to stamp her feet and scream at him but it would alert Bill. “Is that a yes, Bill?” She heard another single blip on the device. “Thank you. Do you know how to find him?” If this didn’t work they were all screwed. Damn, she wished Dakota would return to his body. “Do you see a white light? It’s bright, like the brightest sun on a tropical beach. Do you see it?” She had no idea what the light looked like, she could only go by what Linda had described. Bill wasn’t responding. “Bill, do you see it?”
One blip.
Relief filled her. This wasn’t over yet. “That’s where my dad is. You have to go get him and tell him I need him. I need his help turning myself in for what I did to you. Will you do that? You’ll get your justice, but I need his help.” She watched the K2 meter for a sign. Nothing. “Bill?” She looked around the room for a sign of him. Dakota shimmered full strength. Sheila was still cradling Linda’s head and stroking her face. She looked up with fear in her eyes. Linda didn’t have much time. “Please, Bill, I need him to help me turn myself in. You can understand that. I know you can. Think about how different your life would have been if your mother hadn’t killed your father.” It was a risk, she knew, to bring up that time in his life but she was betting that he had a connection to his father. A cold chill clutched her by the shoulders. She felt his hands on her. His icy fingers dug into the flesh and pressed against bone. He lifted her until her toes barely brushed the ground. The scent of whisky and onions puffed in her face.
Chaos didn’t fight or struggle. “I’m ashamed of what I did to you, Bill. You deserve better. You deserve justice. Please get my dad so we can end this.” Bill gave her a violent shake. Her head snapped back. Pain seared her spine. She thought it was the end of her. She wasn’t ready
for it but accepted the possibility. At least she knew without a doubt that there was life after death. It offered some comfort. Almost as if in a dream she found her feet planted solidly on the ground. The room felt lighter.
“He’s gone,” Sheila said. “It’s over. You did it, Chaos. He’s gone.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Cheveyo
Chaos woke to Dakota’s face. For half a breath she believed, or let herself believe, that she was having a beautiful dream. Reality quickly invaded. She pushed herself upright on the couch and rolled her head lightly to test her neck. It was sore but nothing she couldn’t manage.
“You should have gone back to your hotel and slept in a bed,” Dakota said, coming over to sit beside her.
“Linda’s couch was fine. Besides, someone had to clean up after Bill’s destruction.” It was her fault Linda’s place was in a shambles. “How is she?”
“You should come see for yourself. She’s asking for you.”
“I’m not going to do that. It’s my fault she’s there, Dakota. People die around me. It’s not the necklace, it’s me. I’m not putting her in any more danger. And you should be afraid. You should walk away and never look back.”
“Is that what you want?”
Was it? She didn’t want to say goodbye to her friends, especially not Dakota, but if she didn’t, they’d all end up leaving anyway from fear or in a body bag. Chaos stood and paced the room. She didn’t know what she wanted. She wanted to stay and be with Dakota but she didn’t belong here. She had a life and a business in New Mexico. She’d never planned on staying. Ghost hunting didn’t fit into her life. Then again, her life was pretty empty. There was room for change. There was room for more. And Dakota? Was there room for him in her life? Did she want him to walk away and never look back? No. She loved him. It didn’t make sense and it terrified her. Their connection was so strong, hurting him was inevitable. “I have to. Once I know Linda is okay and I have my mom’s necklace, I have to go.”
“Just like that?” He crossed his long arms over his chest. The leather on his coat squeaked. “I thought we were starting something, Chaos.”
Deadly Chaos Page 18